Despite cold, Girls on the Run 5K draws 2,500 to New Garden Flying Field

06/05/2018 10:13AM
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By Richard Gaw

By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

For the past several months, hundreds
of local boy and girls had prepared hard for what awaited them at the
tarmac and runway last Sunday morning at the New Garden Flying Field,
and no amount of chilly weather was going to stop them now.

An overflow crowd of more than 2,500
that was made up of young girls from the YMCA Greater Brandywine
Valley's Girls on the Run and Strides program and a small army of
volunteers and parents braved an unseasonable cold to participate in
the “Run the Runway” 5K race on June 3, on a course that
navigated around the airport property.

The whipping winds were not the only
mitigating factor at the event. The race, which was scheduled to
begin at 9:05 a.m., was delayed for 35 minutes by a traffic overflow
that extended for more than one mile in either direction from the
entrance to the airport on Newark Road. Those who arrived early used
the delay to dance to music that blasted from speakers, huddle in
blankets, or grab a quick bite with their parents at the EAA Chapter
240's pancake breakfast being served up the hill from the runway.
After a limbering up session and a playing of the “Star Spangled
Banner,” the race got underway at 9:40 a.m.

Girls on the Run 5K organizer Kathryn
Gute took a moment from her duties to admire the runners who were
arriving after being delayed by the traffic.

“They're like, 'What's going to stop
me? I'm going out in this wind today,'” Gute said. “I think it's
awesome. This season, we've had over 900 girls and over 400 boys
throughout Chester County participate in the Girls on the Run and
Strides programs.”

The 10-week program, which is tailored
to students from the third grade to the fifth grade, focuses on
building self-esteem and improving emotional and physical health.
While training for the June 3 event was key on the program's agenda,
it also focused on developing the youngsters' sense of
self-awareness, empowerment and a sense of achievement, that will
help them become strong, content and self-confident men and women.
The Greater Brandywine Valley's programs are part of the Girls on the
Run network, which includes more than 200 locations across the U.S.
and Canada.

“Each year, we get to see the kids
continue to participate each year we begun to see them develop
leadership skills, and they then become leaders in their own schools
and teams,” Gute said. “Girls on the Run and the Strides program
were developed for that age group, because at that age, they're ready
developmentally for those kinds of lessons in self-confidence, making
good decisions and being a good friend.”

Micki Tilley, who along with Natalie
Ventura serves as a Girls on the Run volunteer coach, has locked in
the 5K event on her yearly calendar with her daughter.

“We love running for the health
benefits, but this program is about so much more than just running,”
Tilley said. “It's about building these girls' confidence, giving
them a sense of accomplishment and letting them know that they can
overcome any obstacles they may encounter along the way.

“It's especially important at this
age, because they're all about to enter middle school – which is
when some girls begin changing and may be not be as nice to each
other as they once were.”

For Ventura, an elementary school
teacher, said that she begins to see the change in her students, even
at that young age.

“It's no longer just playful fun with
friends,” she said. “They begin to think about themselves and
their self image. They start to recognize who they are as
individuals, so at each practice we work through different scenarios,
and give them skills they can use.”